Blog Roll

Magical Moths: Last Chance

With about 13,000 known species, North American moths come in a range of sizes, from members of the giant silkworm family with six-inch-wingspans to numerous species of smaller “micromoths.” But in Winged Tapestries: Moths at Large, a thrilling photographic exhibition open for just one more month at the Museum, the featured moths—no matter how large or small in nature—are magnified to sumptuous dimensions.

Polyphemus moths (Antheraea polyphemus), like other members of the giant silkworm family, have wingspans of up to 6 inches.

With prints as large as 5 feet across, says David Grimaldi, curator in the Division of Invertebrate Zoology, “These images provide a moth's-eye view in stunning detail. You can see individual scales on the wings, and how the different colors of scales form a mosaic of patterns." The giant prints of the moths, which were carefully scanned on a velvety black background, reveal details invisible to the naked eye.

The pale white-yellow, one-inch wingspan beggar moth (Eubaphe mendica) may not look like much at first glance. Here it is at about actual-size.

At just one-inch-long and not-so-colorful, the white-dotted prominent (Nadata gibbosa) might be easy to overlook at first glance. But in a 45-inch-wide print, its astonishing antennae, elegant tawny stripes, and snowflake-white dots deserve a long look.

Photographed by Canadian artist Jim des Rivières, the more than 30 moths in the exhibition are quite common, and all are native to eastern North America. Perhaps they’ll inspire you to look more closely, in real life, at these mysterious, deceptively subtle night visitors.